All Articles: Xenoblade Chronicles X

After a year of surprising new games (Splatoon, Super Mario Maker) and surprising delays (The Legend of Zelda Wii U, Star Fox Zero), Nintendo is finally ready to close out 2015 with what might be their biggest game for the Wii U yet… Xenoblade Chronicles X. The open world sci-fi adventure is packed with mechs, aliens, space battles, and the near extinction of the human race. And that’s just the beginning… the planet of Mira holds many surprises.

Try to forget about next week’s release of Devil’s Third, it causes havoc with my whole intro.

The 3DS eShop is home to a handful of interesting games this week as well. Nintendo is merging their Picross series of picture puzzle games with Pokemon this week in Pokemon Picross. Players will be able to tackle 300 standard puzzles, a “significantly” more difficult Advanced Mode, and Daily Training puzzles. On the opposite end of the cute and cuddly scale is Dementium Remastered, an enhanced remake of Renegade Kid’s first-person horror title.

Finally this week, we swing back around to the Wii U for the release of Trauma Team, a surgery sim from Atlus, and the first third-party Wii game to be added to the Wii U eShop.

More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)

Nintendo and Monolith Soft will release Xenoblade Chronicles X this Friday, so now seems like the perfect time to dive into a meaty launch trailer for the sci-fi game. Clocking in at more than three minutes, the trailer will give viewers a glimpse at several big moments from the game including character introductions, lush alien locales, monstrous mechs, and several absolutely enormous space battles. There’s also a rather spoilerific stinger at the end, so if you’re the sort who needs to go in fresh, close the video when you hit the three-minute mark.

Xenoblade Chronicles X will be released exclusively for the Wii U on December 4.

Three big games will be available in stores this week, including the long-awaited continuation of the Xenoblade series and the return of Rico Rodriguez.

That’s right, everyone’s favorite high-flying secret agent is back in Just Cause 3 for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Taking place on a “Mediterranean island paradise,” developer Avalanche Studios has promised that players will get to experience “complete vertical freedom” during their adventure with the ability to skydive, BASE jump, and free dive throughout the game’s open world.

Also available this week is Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege for the PC, PS4 and Xbox One. Teams of five will use tactical strategies to either defend their base or break into it in a new “Infiltrate versus Fortify” style for the operatives versus terrorists series. The oft-forgotten Wii U gets a chance to shine this week too as Nintendo’s console is almost home to Xenoblade Chronicles X, another entry in their popular sci-fi RPG series. This time around, Players will be able to ride a personalized mechs called Skells and join online squads to battle massive bosses.

Finally, Microsoft will release the Xbox One 1TB Elite Bundle this week, which includes a 1TB Solid State Hybrid Drive for faster access times and an Elite Wireless Controller. But more power requires a bigger credit card as Microsoft has priced the Xbox One 1TB Elite Bundle at $499.99.

A complete rundown of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)

Nintendo has announced that Xenoblade Chronicles X will also be available in a Special Edition when its released for the Wii U on December 4. Nintendo doesn’t often wade into the Special Edition space, but the Xenoblade Chronicles X package is reasonably priced ($89.99) and will include the following bonus goodies:

The Xenoblade Chronicles X game

A gorgeous book of concept art with more than 100 pages, featuring select art for the very first time

A unique USB drive modeled after the game’s “Lifehold Unit,” pre-loaded with a selection of 10 music tracks from the game’s memorable soundtrack

A limited-edition matted 5×7 art card of a painting done for the game by illustrator Takashi Kojo

According to Nintendo, this Special Edition is “Unique to North America” and is available to pre-order now.

As part of their flurry of E3 announcements, Nintendo has announced that Xenoblade Chronicles X will be released in North America on December 4, 2015. A new trailer for Monolith Soft’s science fiction saga is also available, and its been embedded above. If you’re unfamiliar with the RPG franchise, here’s what you can expect, courtesy of Nintendo:

Amid an intergalactic war between aliens and human survivors, players fight for survival while exploring the massive expanses of an unknown planet. Weaponized mechs called “Skells” let players access every location they see. Players also can customize a lethal skill set of combat and defensive skills, called Arts, to strengthen their strategies and defeat enemies efficiently.

Monolith Soft considers Xenoblade Chronicles X a spiritual successor to 2012’s Xenoblade Chronicles, which was released for the Wii in North America after an outpouring of fan requests.

During yesterday’s Nintendo Direct presentation, Nintendo unveiled a new trailer for Xenoblade Chronicles X that showcases the game’s expansive open world. The game is set on an alien planet known as Mira, which is now home to a cadre of humans who left Earth in a generation ship. But Mira was already home to a wide variety of animal life including flying whale-like creatures and massive worms who traverse lush forests, towering mountains, and endless oceans alongside our main characters.

So what’s the game all about? Aside from serving as a spiritual successor to Xenoblade Chronicles, the story of Xenoblade Chronicles X is still shrouded in mystery. But we won’t have to wait much longer to find out more as the game is still on track for a 2015 release exclusively on the Wii U.

Hey! Hey, you! You heard of this X game that Monolith Soft is developing and Nintendo is publishing? You know, that one that looks just like Xenoblade Chronicles? Guess what, it’s actually a sequel to Xenoblade Chronicles known as Xenoblade Chronicles X! Doesn’t that just blow your mind?

Sarcasm aside, Nintendo and Monolith Soft gave us our latest look at X (now known as Xenoblade Chronicles X) during their E3 Digital Event this afternoon. The Wii U-exclusive action RPG is looking as sharp as ever as it’ll be available sometime in 2015.

Two of Nintendo’s shining subsidiaries, Retro Studios and Monolith Soft, have both been busy advertising to fill several positions this week.

First up, Xenoblade Chronicles developer Monolith Soft (translated by Siliconera) is urgently seeking a Game Planner, Town Planner, and Battle Algorithm Planner. The advert also called for people with experience in A.I. programming, as well as seeking battle animation designers. These roles are presumably for the Wii U title X, which seems to be related to the Xenoblade world. However, that game has a tentative release date sometime this year, so if the posts are for that project, it may mean that Monolith Soft is gearing up for crunch time or, more worryingly, that the RPG will be delayed. However, if you like your glass half full, it could mean that Monolith has something other than X in the works.

More recently, Zach Works, a recruiter for Nintendo, tweeted about a hiring spree at Retro’s Austin based offices.

While the company is still tweaking Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, that game is due out on February 21, so any hiring now would have to be for a completely new project. Could it be that Retro is returning to the Metroid series? Or will the company be moving on to another franchise in Nintendo’s massive library?